RPGamer's semi-regular Kickstarter Check-In returns to showcase two currently-running Kickstarter funding campaigns for RPGs. This time out we take a look at the campaigns for Erebus LLC's Apocalypse Now and Failbetter Games' Sunless Skies.

Apocalypse Now

One of the less expected sources for an RPG adaptation, Apocalypse Now is based on the Vietnam War film of the same name. The game will look to combine its heavy RPG elements with aspects from first-person survival and horror titles. The adaptation is endorsed by film director Francis Ford Coppola and some of its developers having previously worked on titles such as Fallout: New Vegas, Wasteland 2, and Far Cry.

The game puts players in the role of Captain Willard, who has the ultimate mission of assassinating the rogue American officer Colonel Kurtz. Players will have the freedom to play as their own version of Captain Willard, though because of his role as a Special Forces operative his dialgoue choices will remain inkeeping with that persona. Apocalypse Now will feature decision making with branching narrative and a heavy emphasis on resource management and maintaining relationships, with outcomes to various decisions determined by either player skill or character attributes.

Erebus LLC is looking for $900,000 in funding by February 24, 2017. Those who pledge at least $35 will receive a copy of the game as part of their backer rewards. In addition to the Kickstarter campaign, it will also be looking at a long-term funding program to raise additional funds, ahead of an initially planned release period of late 2020.

Sunless Skies

Developer Failbetter Games has turned to Kickstarter to help fund the sequel to its 2D exploration RPG, Sunless Sea. Once again set in the Fallen London universe, Sunless Skies takes place ten years after its predecessor where Queen Victoria has taken London into space and begun an expansion of the British Empire across the stars.

Space in the Fallen London universe, where it is known the High Wilderness, is much different to that of the real universe. Stars are living beings called the Judgments, huge intelligences that govern all. However, something is killing them one-by-one allowing the Victorian Empire to claim the domains left behind.

Players will start by creating the captain of their ship, giving them an origin story that will in turn grant boosts in certain skills as well as their starting affiliations. For example, choosing a starving poet origin increases the Hearts skill, which increases their ability to convince and endure. Players will also be able to select their captain's primary Ambition and set the victory condition for the game, such as charting the far corners of the High Wilderness. Throughout the game, players' captains will also gain new Facets, which provide new skills in addition to more possible details about their past.

Combat will follow a similar deliberate pacing as in Sunless Seas, giving greater credence to tactical skill abnd positioning. The developers have promised that it will be easier for players to try and outmanoeuvre their opponents than in the previous game. Players will be able to upgrade their ships will a variety of Victorian-style weaponry.

Failbetter Games is looking for £100,000 in funding for Sunless Skies by March 3, 2017. Those who pledge at least £15 will receive a copy of the game as part of their backer rewards. The game has a initially planned launch period of mid-2018.

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